


CuddleBugs

by mygoldenfleece



Category: Glee
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29379810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mygoldenfleece/pseuds/mygoldenfleece
Summary: Trigger Warnings: Spanking and mild violence
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe
Kudos: 26





	CuddleBugs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [virdant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/gifts).



“Sebastian.” Her voice was soft and delicate however strange. It had only been 12 hours since he’d met her, however he still wasn’t used to her voice. That didn’t matter though, he still knew his own name. “Sebastian, where are you?” 

There was something in the back of the toddler’s mind that developed a bit of a silencer for estranged woman voices. The past couple of years, Sebastian had heard multiples of them. Every couple of months, his mother would walk in with another tall slender woman-- introducing them. As a small three year, the only thing that Sebastian could really do was just stand there and say hello and attempt to get some sort of physical contact from his mother. Of course, she would hug him and coddle him to comfort him through handing him off to somebody else. It always ended in the same result. 

Sebastian sat on the floor of his large playroom. The wall was lined with brightly colored bins, filled to the brim with various toys. A child’s dream; every hot wheel and tonkee car on the shelves, plastic dinosaurs that ranged from every color to every species, endless amounts of legos or connectors or whatever lackee brand that was bought by some aunt or uncle and even a couple of Barbie dolls with outfits. There was a bookshelf that held stalks of bright colored books with children laughing or objects with fun faces on them. Bean bags and blankets designed for people to cuddle together to enjoy the fun lessons together. Though, this never happened. To finish off the luxurious kids room, there was a large TV with every single current video game console that any sort of three year old wouldn’t need at all. Usually, the nannies would turn it on in the morning to whatever fun rambling cartoon. Sometimes, Sebastian would be entranced by an episode, though it wouldn’t hold his attention for long. 

He made a habit of attempting to go through the toys. Sometimes he would just take them out and toss them around, not really with any purpose. The nannies have made some stride in getting Sebastian to pick them up-- however he just runs away, whining to his mother. But that time, she was drowned deep within her evening glass of alcohol to care about the responsibilities of her child. It was even more rare when his father was there. If Sebastian entered the dining room to see his dad, he would immediately run into his room and hide somewhere until he was physically dragged out for dinner. 

Today, Sebastian was sitting on the ground with one of his many trucks. He heard the calls of the woman, but he ignored it. Instead, he crawled along the edge of the rug with his hand wrapped around the truck and dragging it along. Before the sound, he was mimicking the sounds he saw on his favorite cartoons. Now he was silent. 

“Sebastian.” Despite his silence, her voice was growing louder. He continued to ignore her and ram his truck lazily into an old lego structure. As the pieces clashed, the noise was enough to attract the next caretaker. 

“Oh there you are!” It was in the tone that a new caretaker always had. All fun and cheery. “I called for you!” 

Sebastian didn’t look up as his attention went to the legos. Now he was taking them apart, wondering how they got together like that. Maybe it was a bored nanny, looking after him. He thought it looked ugly, so he needed them apart. 

It was a while before the nanny said anything. Sebastian could feel her watching him. His stomach growled. 

“Are you hungry?” She asked, hearing the cue. 

Sebastian didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned his back to her and continued to take the legos apart. 

“I heard you like waffles.” 

This made the toddler stop for a moment. He considered talking to her. 

“You want to get some waffles? I saw some strawberry jam that we can put on there for you.” 

It was too tempting, Sebastian looked up from his legos. Her face was gentle and soft. It helped that she was younger than the ones he had before. Her voice sounded American as well; different from the normal French accents that they had. Sometimes they would say sentences in full french to him.

“Come here cuddlebug.” The nickname threw him off. Nobody had ever called him anything other than his name. “Let’s get some yummy waffles and fruit.” She held out her arms and placed them on Sebastian’s hips and picked him up. Sebastian clutched onto his legos. “I don’t know if we should bring legos to the table-- you want to bring another friend? How about your truck?” 

Sebastian nodded. The nanny gently took the legos from him and set them down and grabbed the truck. She handed it over to Sebastian and he clutched it. She walked with him in her arms out of the room. “Did you dress yourself this morning?” She asked him. “I thought you were gonna be in bed.” 

Sebastian didn’t say anything. She waited for a moment before continuing. 

“You’re really good at it-- your shirt is so cute on you.” she cooed at him.

He didn’t respond. Instead he examined the truck and twisted it around. 

“We need to teach you how to tie your shoes though. It looks like you knotted it really well, but we can do it better.” 

Even while he was in her arms, he was able to ignore her. Though, he leaned over and hugged onto her. Sometimes he usually never did. Then again, it had been a long time since he had been held by anybody. Usually, his nannies were older and couldn’t carry a three year old boy for long. Unlike the rest of them, she was warm and seemed a bit playful. As she walked with him, she would nuzzle his hair or put a hand on his back. This made him cling to her more. 

Just as promised, she served him waffles and strawberry jam. Sebastian smiled as she taught him the absolute best way to enjoy the delicacy. “Oh honey, look, we dip it, see.” She dipped the piece and held it out for him. He took a bit of it and jumped excitedly at the delicious taste. She did it again, but just as he was about to bite onto it, she snapped it away from him and ate it herself. 

“Hey!” He shouted in protest. 

She giggled. “I knew you could talk.” Her giggle evolved into a laugh. Sebastian blushed bright red at his outburst, then he smiled. 

“Of course I can.” He squeaked in his high pitched boyish voice. “I can talk, I’m not stupid.” 

She burst out laughing. She continued on with cutting up Sebastian’s food and spreading on the strawberry jam. “Alright, now here you go-- dip it in the syrup.” She instructed and Sebastian did just that. 

“Ms… Um…” Sebastian struggled. 

“Stephaine.”

“Ms. Stephaine, yesterday I saw a... “ He thought for a moment. “Hippo-po-pot-ta-mous. It was funny. But it was on the TV.” 

“Oh? Do you want to see a real one?” 

“No. It looked ugly. But I just wanted to let you know I can say Hippo-po-pot-ta-mous.” 

She snorted and it turned into uncontrollable laughter. As she laughed, Sebastian felt the giggly sensation take over his body. With his nanny, Sebastian laughed and pushed his body forward. Without thinking, Sebastian put his arm down on the tray and flipped it. Everything went in slow motion as the plastic whipped through the air and the syrup and waffles went tumbling to the floor. It hit the floor and bounced around, flinging the food everywhere. 

Sebastian looked up in terror as the nanny became aware. His lips turned down as he felt the onslaught of anger coming from Stephaine. 

Seconds passed and Stephaine continued to smile. “Oh no!” She said with false drama. “Look at that. Are you still hungry, you want another one?” She stood up. “What’s wrong cuddlebug? We have more. Don’t be upset.” 

Sebastian nodded. “I’m still hungry. It’s all over the floor though.. And.. and.. I don’t want it on the floor. I’m sorry, I’m still hungry.”

“It’s okay baby, I’ll be right back with some more.” She smiled at him. She put a hand on his back which somehow suppressed the oncoming tears. “And don’t worry, we can clean it up and it’ll be just as new like it never happened.” She smiled gently and Sebastian smiled back.

“Okay.” He said quietly. “Um, Ms. Stephaine….”

“Yes?” 

“What is a cuddlebug? I’ve never heard of a cuddlebug.” 

“Oh well.. It’s a bug.” 

“I’m not a bug. Bugs are kind of gross.” 

She laughed. “Not all bugs, these are good bugs. Because everytime you see one, you can’t help but do this.” She stretched out her arms and snatched up Sebastian’s light body and snuggled their faces together. Sebastian screamed with laughter as he felt her fingers tickle at his sides as well. Together they went to the kitchen to begin the day.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mom?” Sebastian asked. He stood at her side as she sat at the dining table. She was deep in conversation with the woman next to here. Sebastian reached up and grabbed at her dress. However, she didn’t look down. Instead, she swung her hand down to slap away Sebastian’s hand. 

“Stop that, we just fed you.” She snapped.

Sebastian stepped back and felt his lips waiver. “Mom!” She shouted. 

His mother swung around. “OH! Sebastian, sorry I thought you were Sophia.” She turned to her friend. “I don’t know why, she’s been so needy lately. She keeps poking her nose at me. I have to take her to the vet.” She rolled her eyes and looked at Sebastian. “What is wrong? I set out some fruit for you earlier, did you eat it?”

“No. Where is Ms. Stephaine?” 

“We let her go. She wasn’t folding things correctly, constantly late, and she kept putting up youtube videos. Go play Sebastian, I’ll come get you for lunch.” 

“What do you mean you let her go? Is she going to make chicken nuggets for lunch? She made ones that looked like dinosaurs.” 

“No Sebastian, we threw those out. Those are bad for you.” 

“But I like them. And Ms. Stephaine made them. Where is Ms. Stephaine?”

“Sebastian, I told you that we let her go. You never act like this. Go play.” 

Sebastian stepped backward. His lips waivered. “I want Ms. Stephaine!” He screamed at her. “Why did you let go! You need to hold on!” 

“Why are you yelling, stop yelling! Go to your room!” With that, she stood up. Her chair jutted backward and tipped over. 

Sebastian stumbled backward. “No! Make me!” 

With that, his mother scooped him up and slapped him on the butt. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten this discipline. But there was something about her screaming and red face that set it differently in the moment. Once it was done, Sebastian sat on the floor, crying. Not because of the physical harm. 

“Now go to your room! Don’t you ever yell at me again.” 

Sebastian didn’t move. Instead, he looked up at her; red faced and tears draining out of his face. 

“I hate you.” He said. “I want Ms. Stephaine to be my mom.” 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For most of the week, he was held in his room. His mother hardly got him and he hardly wanted to leave. He came out every once and a while to find fruit or a sandwich for him. As he walked into the living room after his mother, he knew what was happening. This is always how it happened. 

“This is Ms. Carter.” His mother introduced. 

Sebastian just stared at her. She was older-- like his other nannies. 

“Bonjour Sebastian.” She said to him.   
He pressed his lips together and looked up at his mother. Normally, she had a wine glass in her hands and she was looking elsewhere. However, now she didn’t. Instead, she was looking at him. “Say hello.” She told Sebastian. 

Sebastian looked back at Ms. Carter. He noticed her nails-- things that would hurt if she were to hold him or hug him. Her sharp square glasses would make it difficult to press their faces together or give him soft little kisses on his cheeks. He wondered if with her small thin arms and small chest, would she be able to even warm him with her body heat the way Stephaine did. 

“Hello.” He said softly.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun together. Don’t worry, we’ll have none of those unhealthy dinosaur nuggets.” 

Sebastian’s mom gave a nod. “Wonderful. I think that’s what’s contributing to his shouting. Here, let’s put Sebastian in his room and then we can take a tour of the house.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Sebastian got himself dressed and went to the kitchen. He pushed himself to the kitchen. There, he found nothing for his empty stomach. He frowned as he pushed himself onto the counter and grabbed at whatever was on the counter. He found a banana and pulled it down for himself. He struggled to peel off the skin, but he eventually got to the sweet fruit inside. 

“Oh there you are.” Sebastian turned around to see the older woman standing there. “Did you get that down by yourself.” 

Sebastian nodded and looked down at his banana. 

“You know it’s upside down.” 

“Monkeys eat it like this-- it’s supposed to be better.”

“Right… okay well, let me make you a muffin. Go sit at the table.” 

“Can we go for a walk today?” 

“Sure, of course. we can walk Sophia too.” 

Just as she promised, Ms. Carter had started to prepare for a walk. Loaded up in the stroller, Sebastian peaked out from under the tent. They hadn’t said much that whole morning. Sebastian attempted to ask about something on the tv, but Ms. Carter simply shrugged it off. When Sebastian attempted to play with her or hug her, she would look away as if it were some burden for her.   
It was time for them to walk. Sebastian grew restless in the stroller. “Hey, stop that or I’m going to take you out and you’re walking.” Ms. Carter threatened as she pushed along the sidewalk. However, Sebastian didn’t stop rocking the stroller and Ms. Carter followed through with her threat of taking Sebastian out of the basket. 

They walked for a little while. The neighborhood was that one would expect of a rich neighborhood. There was a large playground which would be the spot of their play date. Or at least that it what Ms. Carter though. Once they came over the top of the hill, there was a hedge maze to the right, something made by the neighbors there. Sophia liked to run off to sniff there. Just as the large golden retriever tugged at the leash to pull Ms. Carter away, Sebastian grabbed a hold of some puff treats and kicked the stroller down the hill. 

Ms. Carter let out a scream as she realized that the stroller was rolling down the hill. Sebastian watched as Ms. Carter chased after it and he ran the other direction. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sebastian ran into the maze-- as fast has his short little legs could carry him. His heart pounded as he took multiple lefts and rights without any real sense of where he was going or where he was. Somehow, he’d manage to get through a maze. In his rush, Sebastian attempted to run toward another neighborhood, one he’d never been before. In the uneven grass, the small boy’s foot caught a hold of a rock and he tumbled to the floor. 

He rolled a bit in the mud. He felt his small body start to slide as gravity started to pull him down a hill. He screamed just to have his mouth become full of dirty and grass. He coughed as he attempted to get past it. “Help! Help!” He coughed as his little body went tumbling. 

It felt like he had been falling forever. He was finally able to stop himself on his back and slide a bit further. He looked up at the sky and prayed to himself that it would stop moving. His body came to a halt and Sebastian breathed in. He coughed out some dirty and grass as he attempted to sit up. He reached up to his mouth to pull out some of the things that got caught in it only to find that his hands and arms were completely covered in mud. 

After he came to this realization, his body started to feel the shock of the pain from his body hitting the floor. He looked up to see that he’d fallen at the top of the hill and the path that he created with his body. He sniffled as his whole body started to tense up when he tried to move. He felt hot tears start at his eyes as he attempted to get to his feet. His shoes didn’t grip the soft ground right and he slipped, going face first into the mud. 

He yelped in pain-- only to come out as a moan. He got onto his hands and knees and started to move himself. Only a couple of crawls on his hands and needs made him slip further into the muddy terrain. He cried out in pain as he felt the small rocks in the mud dig hard into his skin. What was worse, when he looked up, he saw that his strawberry puffs were at the top of the hill. 

He tried again, over and over. His cries and yelps got louder and louder. Then they started to get softer as his energy started to deplete from trying. In one last attempt, Sebastian felt his body grow some last ditch effort. His legs thrusted him forward onto the mud slide. He’d gotten higher than he’d ever gotten but his feet had lost traction as soon as he got any higher and he went sliding back down again. He was about to resort to screaming and crying until he’d heard a voice.

“You’re gonna need boots if you want to stand up.” 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sebastian turned around to see him. The sun shined brightly above the boy. He put his hand up to block the sun. 

Before him stood a boy no older than he. Curly hair, strong chubby face, dark eyes with a jacket on and some bright yellow boots. There was a soft smile on his face, something similar to Stephaine’s face.

“Don’t you have your boots?” He asked him. 

“No, I don’t have my boots.” Sebastian told him. “I just have these tennis shoes.” 

“Oh, well, here. I can help you stand up.” He held out his hand for Sebastian’s. 

Carefully, Sebastian took it and the two of them walked hand in hand. Sebastian slipped but the other toddler had a strong grip on him. Soon, Sebastian wasn’t slipping any more and he was on hard concrete. 

“You’re all muddy and gross. You should take a bath.” 

“I can’t.” Sebastian told the boy. “I have to find Ms. Stephaine.” 

“Who is that?” 

“She is my mom.” 

“Why did you call her Ms. Stephaine?”

“I don’t know, but I need to find her.” 

“Well… maybe if you don’t take a bath-- she’ll be able to smell you.”

“Blaine! Blaine!” A woman shouted. “Blaine where are you?!” 

“Here mommy! Hey, you want to see if my mom knows where Ms. Stephanie is?” Blaine asked Sebastian

“Yeah! Maybe she can help me.” Sebastian followed after Blaine. 

They went to a gate where Blaine had turned to the side and slipped through. Sebastian turned to see the hill that he had been sliding down before he followed after Blaine. 

“Mommy!” 

“Oh my god, Blaine! I told you not to go through that gate. You can get hurt or lost!” She screamed at him. A woman, barely any bigger than a pole, came running into the yard to pick up Blaine. Tears were in her eyes as she brushed through Blaine’s curly flippy hair. She hugged him hard. She sniffled. “I told you young man to NE-VER go through there. I was so worried.” She huffed. 

Sebastian stepped back-- expecting her to turn over the young boy and slap him on the behind. Somehow watching it was more terrifying than experiencing it.

“I know, but I saw this boy-- he was sliding down the hill and crying. I thought he was playing at first, but then it looked like he needed help. So I went to help him mommy.” 

That was when her attention turned to Sebastian standing with his back against the gate. His entire body, covered in mud, grass and various other earthly things. She gasped as her eyes landed on Sebastian’s face, which is where she saw blood trickling from a cut that he’d gotten on his cheek. Instantly, she put Blaine down and ran over to the young boy. His tiny body shivered with fear, yet it didn’t move.

“Oh come here honey.” She said. “You’re bleeding, how did you get that muddy. Oh my god. Let’s get you cleaned up.” She picked Sebastian up, but he didn’t say anything as she toted him inside. 

Within minutes, Sebastian sat in a warm muddy tub. As the mud was scrubbed off of him, more and more cuts came to her notice. He cried lightly at the stink of the cuts. But she was gentle as she went over Sebastian’s soft pale body, cooing in a sing song voice in a language Sebastian didn’t understand. Somehow it calmed him. As Blaine’s mother scrubbed him down, Sebastian became brave enough to lean into her. That’s when he caught her scent and uttered his first words to her.

“You smell like Ms. Stephaine.” He commented. “Do you know Ms. Stephaine?” 

Before Blaine’s mother could say anything, Blaine chimed in. “He says that’s his mom. Mom, do some people call their moms by something else?” 

“She isn’t my mom.” Sebastian told Blaine. “She’s my new mom though. My mom isn’t really my mom.” 

“What’s your name?” Blaine asked. 

“Sebastian. Your name is Blaine?” 

“Yeah! Mom, can we go looking for Ms. Stephaine?” 

“Yes honey, we can look for Ms. Stephaine. Let me go get our friend some new clothes and we’ll start looking for Ms. Stephaine.” 

Sebastian was put into new clothes after his bath. The clothes hung off of his skinny body. Blaine’s mother had to pin up Blaine’s pants in order to keep Sebastian’s pants from falling down. Soon, Sebastian was sitting at the kitchen table with Blaine. 

“Okay, where do we look for Ms. Stephaine first? Should we look at your house?” 

“No, she wasn’t there this morning. My mom said that she let her go.” Sebastian explained to him. 

“Let her go? What does that mean?” 

“I don’t know, but she hasn’t come back. So I don’t think she’ll be there.” Sebastian told Blaine. “Ms. Stephaine said that she was a student at a college. But I don’t know what school that was. Um… she goes to my church! Whenever we went to church she would come and she said she normally comes to my church. We can check the church.” 

“Where is the church?” Blaine asked. 

At that moment, Blaine’s mother had showed up at the table with some sandwiches on a plate. 

“I don’t know.” 

“Mom, do you know where the church is?” 

“No.” She answered as she put the plate in front of them. “Here eat up. Then we’ll attempt to find Ms. Stephaine. Sebastian, you said you lived around here?” 

“Yes. I live next to the hedge maze.” He said as he took his sandwich to bite into it. “Wow, this is really good, just like Ms. Stephaine’s sandwich. Are you sure you don’t know Ms. Stephaine, Blaine’s mommy?” 

She giggled. “Well… not that I know of.”

“Will we be able to go to the church after lunch?” Sebastian asked. 

“We can if you remember which church you go to.”

“Um… I don’t know which one. There is an ice cream shop and a mall there. My mom likes to go meet her friends there and I get to play with Mr. Buttons. That’s the horse in front of the Asian shop. Sometimes Mr. So give me these balls. It’s the best ever, but I have to eat them really fast because my mom says they’re bad for you. Like dinosaur nuggets.”  
“Mr. Soo? Ahhh, okay. We’ll go see him and we’ll see where the church is. But don’t you think that your mom will be missing you?” She asked him. 

“No, she doesn’t like me.” Sebastian said with a mouth full of food. 

“You’re not supposed to talk with our mouth full.” Blaine told Sebastian.

“Oh.” He clasped his hand over his mouth. “Okay.” 

They finished their food. In the meanwhile, Blaine’s mother had attempted hard to get Sebastian to talk about his actual parents-- however he was dead set on the church to find Ms. Stephaine. Continuously he described Ms. Stephaine.

‘This one day, she wore a beautiful scarf. It had little planets on it, she helped me draw the plants.’ 

‘She smells like raspberries somedays, I don’t really like it. I like your smell and her smell. It smells like woody, oil, and kind of smoky. Like that!’ His small little stubby finger poked at an incense that was on a large red wood cabinet. ‘Can we bring one to Mr. So-o… Soo…’ 

‘Mr. Soo’

‘Mr. Soo in case he would know how she smells?’ Sebastian yawns after he says this. 

Blaine stood next to him. ‘We have lots!’ He opened up the cabinet and showed Sebastian. ‘Here, have one.’ He grabbed a fist full and attempted to give it to Sebastian, however his mother leaned forward. 

‘Hold on Blaine.’ She pulled only one for Sebastian and put the rest of them back. 

Sebastian yawned. “Are we going to get ready soon?”

“Of course Sebastian, come here though, you seem kind of tired.” 

“I’m not tired.” He protested.

“I think it’s your nap time, and your nap time too love.” Blaine’s mother demanded. She scooped up her son.

“But I want to play with my friend.” Blaine demanded. 

“I know cuddlebug, but you get grumpy if you don’t take your nap.”  
Sebastian’s eyes brightened. “Is he a cuddlebug? Ms. Stephaine said I was a cuddlebug.” Sebastian went to hug at her legs. He held up his arms and the small framed woman scooped up Sebastian in her other arm. 

All three of them went into another part of the house. It was Blaine’s room. It wasn’t as bright and colorful as Sebasttian’s room, however it had a bit of homely touch to it. Once inside, she put the two toddlers down on the floor. 

Blaine looked up at his mother. “Can I show Sebastian my books?” 

“Of course, ten minutes. Here, Sebastian, let me have that incense, you can have it back after your nap.” 

“Okay.” Sebastian forfeited the stick, which had snapped in his hand. However, he didn’t seem to notice as he ran away to Blaine. “Blaine, Ms. Stephaine said I was a cuddlebug-- I don’t know what that is, but she would tell them that I am but I don’t know how to do it.” 

“I don’t know either. But it’s really fun being a cuddlebug because you get to hug people.” Blaine commented as he grabbed a hold of a tattered old book. “There might be a book on it. But I don’t have that book. It’s okay, we’ll just read this book.” He sat down on the pillows and then leaned over so his body was stretched across all of them.

“Oh I might have that book! Um… I don’t remember actually. We would have to go back to my room to find it. We can’t go back while my mom is there though. She doesn’t like other kids being over. Blaine-- you said you were my friend?” 

“Yeah, at first I didn’t think you were my friend-- you were kind of dirty. But then you go clean and now we’re friends.” 

“Oh, I’m always clean. You were dirty too.” Sebastian pointed out. 

“I had boots on though.” Blaine opened the book. “Lay down, you can’t see the book if you don’t lay down.” 

Sebastian stared at Blaine on the pillows. “Where am I supposed to sit?” He asked. “You’re taking up all of them.” 

“You can fit on it.” Blaine pointed out. “Just come here.”

Sebastian walked over and bent at the knees. They landed on the edge of the pillow. Slowly, he bent over and leaned down next to blaine. His body touched Blaine’s and he relaxed onto the used dirty pillow. Blaine turned over and faced Sebastian. He took Sebastian’s free hand. “Here, I’ll keep you up if you hold on to me.” 

“Hold the end of the book with your other hand..” Blaine told him. So Sebastian grabbed onto the edge.   
Now, he didn’t actually know how to read, he was three years old. But he wasn’t focused on that. At home, Sebastian had all the blankets to cover himself up with and wide soft fluffy pillows to lay down on. However, as Blaine’s cheek touched his, Sebastian’s full body warmed and his body soaked in the used pillows. He held the book up, but his arm got tired quickly. 

“I don’t wanna do this.” Sebastian whispered to Blaine. 

“Yeah, I’ve seen this a million times.” Blaine's dark eyes rolled and he put it down. He turned his body and nuzzled up close to Sebastian. 

As Sebastian stared at Blaine’s face, he noticed how much better this was compared to his time with Ms. Stephaine. First of all, she was large. Sebastian’s small tiny body barely took up half of her body. But being next to Blaine, Sebastian could easily wrap his arms around his body and pull him closer. Sebastian pressed more and more of his face against Blaine’s and he closed his eyes. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sebastian woke up, he was wrapped warmly in a blanket. The material was a heavy wool, nothing until anything he’d ever felt before. His nose was pressed lightly against Blaine’s while his wild hair fell messily over his face. Sebastian noted that Blaine’s hand was clinched around his. Rather than flipping over, Sebastian moved closer to Blaine’s body and pressed his full cheek against Blaine’s face. He felt Blaine shift from waking up. He let out a little laugh and pulled Sebastian into his little body. 

Sebastian giggled too-- his body hiccuping with excitement as the weight of the blanket seemed to hold them together. Sebastian hugged Blaine tighter and tighter. “Blaine, you’re my best friend.” Sebastian said as he grabbed a fist full of Blaine’s jacket. 

“You’re my friend too. You should come over more and we can play.” Blaine said as he pressed his face hard against Sebastian’s; Both of them seemed to be at war with who could steal each other’s warm. 

“Look at my two little cuddlebugs.” 

At first, it didn’t register in Sebastian’s mind. Then he recognized the voice. His body whipped up to look straight into those familiar brown eyes. Instantly, Sebastian scrambled to his feet. 

“Ms. Stephaine!” The three year shouted as he nearly kicked Blaine. 

“Hello Lovemuffin.” She holds her arms out to retrieve the little toddler. She was on her knees, however barely stable as the toddler tackled her. 

“I found you Ms. Stephaine.” His voice squeaked and waivered. “I found you, we were gonna go to the church to find you and talk to Mr. So but then I got tired and then Blaine and I were cuddlebugs and went to sleep. Now you’re gonna be my new mommy and we’re gonna come back here to Blaine’s house so that we can nap and read books and take naps and smell like wood.” 

“Lovemuffin, slow down, slow down.” Stephaine laughed. She leaned back and started to brush through Sebastian’s messy hair. 

“Oh dear, was he sleeping on the ground?” Ms. Carter’s voice entered the room, however Sebastian didn’t pay any attention. 

“Ms. Stephaine, can I play with Blaine some more though. We didn’t get to play much other than with the smelly sticks.” Sebastian asked her. 

“Um, Sebastian I think we need to ask Ms. Carter that.” 

“Ms. Carter can go chase a stroller down a hill. I don’t care.” 

“What a rude little boy.” Ms. Carter commented. “We’re going home, we need to get some of the chores done.” She reached forward to attempt to take Sebastian. 

However the toddler ducked and rolled out of the way, nearly crashing into the furniture. He leaped around Ms. Carter and out into the hallway. He raced out of the room of the house and passed into what looked like a living room. In the center stood a tall white male in a police uniform along with Sebastian and Blaine’s mother. Instantly, Sebastian raced to the thin dark haired woman in the room and hid behind her. 

“Sebastian, get over here!” His mother shouted. “Oh my goodness, he has been brainwashed. Sebastian, come here!” She stumbled forward to attempt to grab him.

“No! You’re not my mommy.” 

Blaine’s mother stood paralyzed with fear from what to do as the little boy weaved through her legs to dodge the woman coming at him. He attempted to side step, but Sebastian would follow her. 

“Blaine’s mom is my new mom and so is Ms. Stephaine; they don’t hate me!” Sebastian shouted as he ducked his mother. He ran around Blaine’s mother but he got scooped up. Once he realized it was Blaine’s mother, he warped his legs around her and clung to her clothes. 

Sebastian’s mother stopped and reached out her hands to take him, but he faced away from her and clinched her clothes harder. It didn’t stop his mother’s long fingernails from wrapping around his tummy. As he was being taken away, a wail came from his throat and tears came pouring out of his eyes. His screams pierced the air. His body naturally flung itself in the direction of where he thought Blaine’s mother was. 

“Ma’am, ma’am stop, stop, he’s pulling on her hair.” At that point the officer had stepped forward and interjected himself between Sebastian’s mother and the toddler. In the fry of it all, Sebastian ended up in Blaine’s mother’s hands. He hadn’t realized it, but as Sebastian was being taken away, he’d managed to punch her in the nose. The officer helped her get a tissue to plug it up. 

As she held her nose, he whispered into Sebastian’s ear. 

“Sebastian, you want to go with Blaine?” She asked him. “You said you wanted to play with Blaine, you want to play with Blaine?” Her voice was strained as she attempted to convenience Sebastian to let go of her. 

She looked over to Stephaine, who was standing in the doorway, watching the squabble. She ran over and joined in with attempting to convenience Sebastian to let go of her. As if it were his life, Sebastian jumped off of Blaine’s mother to Stephaine. After it was clear that Sebastian wasn’t convinced to join his mom, she brought him away and to Blaine’s room. 

When they entered, Blaine was off playing with a toy car. He’d pulled out two, one he had thought to give to Sebastian. Even when Stephaine had kneeled over to put him down, he didn’t automatically let go. 

“You want to go play with Blaine? Looks like he has some cars to play with.” 

A moment passed and Sebastian let go over her. Stephaine grabbed a hold of a towel and started to wipe off Sebastian’s face. Then she pushed him along to play with Blaine. When Blaine saw Sebastian coming, Blaine held out his arms and folded them around his friend. 

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked him.

“It’s called a hug. My mom hugs me when I’m sad. You look sad, so I wanted to give you a hug.” 

“Can I hug again?” 

“Yes.” Blaine stretched his hands out again and pulled Sebastian in tight.

“How do you know Ms. Stephaine?”

“She’s my cousin. She was born in the Filpophines and she lives here, with us.” Blaine told him as he handed Sebastian a toy car. 

Sebastian took it. “So, I get to live here with you and we get to take naps together?” 

“That would be so cool and fun. Then together we can play with Cooper.” 

“Whose that?” 

“My brother.” Blaine smiled brightly as he took Sebastian’s hand. He leaned over onto the ground and Sebastian came with him. “He’s in school right now. If you stay here forever, then he’ll be your brother too.” 

A bright smile came to Sebastian’s face as he thought about his new life. 

“Now hold on there you two.” Stephaine was hovering besides them. She leaned over and looked at Sebastian. “Lovemuffin, come here.” 

Sebastian walked over to her and sat down on her knees, like he normally did. 

“I am not your new mommy, and I’m sorry, but Cooper and Blaine aren’t your new brothers.” 

Sebastian frowned instantly. “Does that mean you hate me too?” 

“No, no, I love you. But… you have to go home Sebastian.” 

“Why?” His small voice cracked. “I hate my home. I don’t want it anymore.” 

“I know baby. But that’s where your family is. And your family will love and miss you.” 

“But I love and miss you. You’re my family.” 

“I know, but then you can come back and play with Blaine. And Blaine can come and play with you. But you can’t choose when that is. For now, we’re just going to have to play whenever we can see each other.” 

There was a moment of more wailing. Blaine walked on over and opened up his arms and wrapped them around Sebastian. Then Sebastian hugged back. Stephaine wrapped her arms around the both of them and held the two toddlers together. Blaine went to Sebastian’s hand and gripped it tight as the embrace fell apart.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Those people are coming today.” Sebastian’s mother’s voice rattled through the kitchen. “Sebastian’s friends.” Her blue eyes went up to her husband, who was drinking his coffee.

“Is that why he is sitting next to the door?” He asked stiffly as he was scrolling through his phone. “Where did he get that weird pillow?” 

“From them, they gave it to him after he left their place and now he doesn’t put it down. I’ve asked Stephaine to wash it and she claims she did, but it still looks dirty.” She commented with disgust as she drank her own coffee. She glanced at Sebastian who was standing at the door with the pillow in his arms. 

“They’ve been coming over a lot lately. I notice that their car is in the driveaway almost every day.” 

“Sebastian will whine if they don’t-- so I just let them come over. The Blaine boy is so weird. His hair is almost always a mess. Almost like Stephaine’s hair is just a curly mess” 

“Mom, that’s mean, don’t talk about Blaine or Ms. Stephanie that way.” Sebastian was there at the door of the kitchen. “You know-- you’re a bad person mom.”

She stared at Sebastian. She could feel the raging anger of her son. Somehow, it scared her. Her lips thinned as she turned her head to her husband. The man seemed like he was focused on something else. Her lips pressed together as her son turned her back on her again and then went to the doorway to await the return of his friend and his nanny.


End file.
